Dick Bourke introduced the presidential award for Martin Naughton at the 2013 IHF Conference in Killarney:
Martin is a proud son of County Louth and truly a legend on the Irish industrial, cultural, and economic landscape. He is joined here this evening by his beautiful wife Carmel, his partner of 45 years. Well done to you both.
They are the proud parents of three grown-up children and, I suspect, even prouder grandparents to nine grandchildren.
Martin is President of the Glen Dimplex Group, one of the world’s major manufacturers of domestic appliances and the world’s largest producer of electric heaters.
After completing his secondary education with the De La Salle Brothers in Dundalk, Martin went to Southampton in England where he studied mechanical and industrial engineering. He then spent twelve years working for other organisations in various roles, including industrial engineer and plant manager.
In 1973, in what was a clear indication of his attitude and positivity, Martin took the bold step of starting his own business, a small manufacturing plant in Newry, County Down. He did this at a time when the Troubles in Northern Ireland were at their height and businesses were closing rather than opening. He began with just 10 employees and a simple plan: to grow the company to 100 employees.
That plan, ladies and gentlemen, was an abject failure, because today Martin leads a global organisation with 22 plants across Ireland, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Holland, New Zealand, and China. The company generates annual revenues of more than €1.5 billion and employs over 10,000 people worldwide.
Martin has a deep interest in the arts. Together with his wife Carmel, who served as Chair of the Board of Governors of the National Gallery of Ireland, he played a key role in the creation of the magnificent Millennium Wing, which opened in 2002, a treasure that will be enjoyed by generations of Irish people and visitors alike.
In a remarkably successful career, Martin has received many prestigious honours. When I introduced him as Dr. Martin Naughton, I should really have said “Drs.” because he holds honorary doctorates from:
- Notre Dame University
- Trinity College Dublin
- University College Dublin
- Queen’s University Belfast
- Ulster University
- Cork Institute of Technology
- Griffith College Dublin
Notre Dame has shown such respect and admiration for Martin that they have also appointed him a Trustee of the University.
We in the Federation are greatly honoured that tonight Martin will accept our inaugural President’s Award, adding it to his distinguished list of accolades.
In addition, he served for seven years on the Irish Council of State and was a past Chairman of InterTradeIreland, the body established to foster economic relationships across the island.
On the tourism front, Martin is one of the principal shareholders in the world-class Merrion Hotel in Dublin, an operation that all of us in this industry can be justly proud of and which stands as an example of Irish hotel-keeping at the highest international standards.
But I want to highlight one particular event that Martin played a central role in bringing to Ireland last September, an event that captured the attention of everyone in our industry and, indeed, across the country. That was the outstandingly successful Notre Dame versus Navy American football game at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
The game attracted up to 35,000 American visitors to Ireland, not just from the United States but from many parts of the world, thanks to Navy’s global fan base. These were not typical short-stay sports fans. Many stayed for a week or two and travelled extensively throughout the country. They spent very generously, and most importantly, they returned home as enthusiastic ambassadors for Ireland, carrying with them a bucket-load of happy memories.
Bringing such an event to Ireland required immense planning, goodwill, faith, and commitment. Right at the forefront, playing the most instrumental role, was Martin Naughton, a proud Irishman who believed his country and his people would deliver. And deliver we did.
When asked about his personal philosophy, Martin offered three simple but powerful statements:
“Things don’t happen. People make things happen.”
“Things don’t go wrong. People allow things to go wrong.”
“If you don’t innovate, you will evaporate.”
On our own industry, he has said:
“Tourism is one of Ireland’s most important industries with enormous potential. It is a great wealth generator for the country, providing a massive cash injection. Uniquely, its raw material is Irish labour and Irish food. It provides huge spin-offs for retail, restaurants, and transport. And if we do it right, it delivers an intangible but priceless benefit, a positive image of our country worldwide.”
Never were truer words spoken about our industry.
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a thumbnail sketch of the man our Federation is privileged to honour this evening.
Would you please rise to your feet as our President, Michael, escorts Dr. Martin Naughton to the stage. Please give him a rousing round of applause!
